Urgent upgrades at Grey Hospital have started, just months after warnings were issued that the facility faced possible closure due to serious safety and compliance failures.
This raises questions about why critical infrastructure problems at the Qonce hospital were allowed to persist for so long without remedial action being taken.
An oversight visit to the hospital by MPs earlier in 2026 identified major shortcomings including the absence of a legally required occupational health certificate, staff shortages and deteriorating infrastructure.
Standing committee on public accounts (Scopa) chair Songezo Zibi warned at the time that operating without the certificate — which confirms a facility meets health and safety standards — was a “very serious matter” that could result in the hospital being shut down.
Subsequent reporting also revealed that the hospital was coming under mounting pressure, with its management grappling with infrastructure breakdowns while trying to maintain services under increasingly difficult conditions.
The MPs’ findings have prompted the Eastern Cape health department to fast-track infrastructure upgrades at the hospital.
According to the department, contractors are on site to address defects identified earlier this year, including a non-functional fire-detection system, faulty intercoms, broken windows, damaged fire escape doors and poor maintenance of the facility.
The scale and range of the defects point to long-term deterioration, with multiple critical systems either failing or operating below required safety standards.
Earlier reports indicated that staffing shortages had forced the hospital’s management to redeploy employees to roles for which they were not trained, while patients complained about long waiting times and declining standards of care.
A contractor is currently on site finalising these works, and processes are being expedited to ensure completion within the shortest possible timeframe
— Siyanda Manana, Eastern Cape health department spokesperson
Eastern Cape health department spokesperson Siyanda Manana said the work was aimed at upgrading existing systems and ensuring compliance.
“A contractor is currently on site finalising these works, and processes are being expedited to ensure completion within the shortest possible timeframe,” he said.
“Importantly, no patients have been placed at risk at any point, and there have been no reported incidents linked to these matters.”
The department said the occupational health certification process was under way and would be completed once upgrades were finalised.
Grey Hospital has been prioritised within a broader infrastructure programme, with a phased revitalisation plan with an estimated cost of R250m, subject to final scope and funding alignment.
Health MEC Ntandokazi Capa said R2.9m had already been committed in the current financial year for immediate interventions, with a further R70m planned over the medium term.
“At Grey Hospital, the department will be implementing targeted refurbishments, including fire safety compliance, structural repairs and replacement of ageing infrastructure,” she said.
The situation at Grey mirrors challenges experienced at other facilities in the province, where infrastructure failures have repeatedly disrupted patient care.
At Bhisho Hospital, patients were recently forced to discharge themselves or be transferred after water and electricity failures brought parts of the facility to a standstill, highlighting the fragility of basic service delivery at some public hospitals.
The facility has struggled with recurring infrastructure problems, including an unreliable power supply and water shortages that have affected patient care and delayed medical procedures.
In response, the health department has outlined a series of interventions at Bhisho Hospital, including water and sanitation upgrades, urgent building repairs and longer-term infrastructure investment programmes.
Manana said additional nursing and non-clinical posts would also be filled across facilities as part of the 2026/2027 budget, with Grey Hospital among those being prioritised.
However, recurring failures at multiple facilities have raised concerns about whether interventions are being implemented proactively or only after conditions reach crisis point.
Though the department has framed the current work as part of a broader recovery plan, oversight bodies have repeatedly warned that weak maintenance, ageing infrastructure and delayed responses continue to undermine the provincial health system.
For Grey Hospital, the immediate focus remains on restoring compliance and stabilising operations.
The longer-term test will be whether the upgrades are sustained — or whether the facility, like others before it, slips back into the same cycle of deterioration that brought it to the brink of closure.
Daily Dispatch
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